Short takes on this week's news
P&G rolls out on-demand CRM from
RightNow
Procter & Gamble is using RightNow Technologies' on-demand
CRM to provide online self-service across its brands, which include
Olay, Pampers and Pantene. RightNow's web self-service is already
being used by P&G to handle consumer queries. The software
enables P&G to track consumer questions, and has been
integrated with P&G's bespoke global contact handling
system.
Public sector gets 45% discount on IT
hardware
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has announced a
procurement deal that will give public sector organisations
discounts of up to 45% on IT hardware. The OGC and its
OGCbuying.solutions trading arm struck the deal after conducting a
competition among suppliers for desktop PCs, laptops and screens.
The discounted prices will apply to public sector bodies regardless
of how many units they purchase.
Microsoft asks for time on antitrust
compliance
Microsoft looks likely to be given more time to comply with a US
Department of Justice antitrust ruling that runs out next year. It
has jointly applied with the US government department for a further
two years to get the technical documentation on its communications
protocols up to date. Microsoft was recently fined by the European
Commission for not meeting a similar deadline.
JJB Sports deploys BT Epos at 430 stores
Sportswear retailer JJB Sports is implementing BT Expedite's
electronic point of sale system in its 430 stores over the next few
months. JJB Sports is also deploying BT Expedite's Enterprise
Management Suite to monitor its new in-store hardware and software.
The retailer implemented a new financial management system from
Coda last month.
JPMorgan CIO to retire after 34 years with
bank
Austin Adams is to retire as chief information officer of
JPMorgan Chase next month after 34 years with the banking group.
JPMorgan Chase, which has yet to name a successor, has a massive
global IT organisation, with 19,000 staff and a multibillion-pound
budget. During his time in charge, Adams has gained extensive
experience of post-merger infrastructure planning, the bank having
been involved in over 90 mergers over the course of his career.
Study reveals high cost of attacks using stolen
IDs
Attacks on computer networks using stolen user IDs and passwords
cause an average of £790,000 in financial damage, an analysis of
criminal prosecutions has revealed. A US Justice Department study
of attacks on computer networks between 1999 and 2006 found that
most attacks used stolen IDs, and the worst cases cost firms more
than £5m.
Aviva brings India-basedoutsource staff
in-house
Insurance company Aviva is transferring more than 5,000 staff
from its Indian outsourcing providers to its own global services
arm in India. The move is part of a "build-operate-transfer"
project started in 2003. This saw Aviva use external providers to
set up business process outsourcing operations in India with the
option of taking on the staff at a later date.
Microsoft releases early test version of
Vista
Microsoft has made a pre-Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Windows
Vista available to the public. The actual RC1 may be available
later this month, but Microsoft wanted to increase the number of
testers of the software before it distributed it. The full version
of Vista is expected to be available to large companies in November
and to all users by early 2007.
PC and mobile makers fail to win green
status
The top 14 PC and mobile producers have failed to secure a
"green" ranking in a Greenpeace guide to environmentally-friendly
electronics firms. Of the 14 firms, Nokia and Dell were ranked
highest in the Guide to Greener Electronics. Both scored points for
commitment to taking back and recycling their own-brand
products.
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